Abstract
Drift algae often become valuable foods for commercially important abalone and sea
urchin, but they are so easily moved by water movement that most of them are wasted away
from fishing grounds. Some acquaculture facilities have been placed as drift alga traps in the
northem Pacific coastal areas of Japan. Unfortunately, any of the facilities has not been
reported to show effects yet.
In this situation, it is required to show how to design the drift alga traps more scientifically
and how much effect the traps might have.
This paper outlines the basic mechanisms of trapmg drift algae to help planners to design
the facilities and to arrange the questions for future investigation.
